


The Extent to Which You Can Bake

by kksunflowerbaby



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Baking, Beginnings, Cute Ending, F/M, Neighbor au, POV Spencer Reid, Reader Insert, Slow Romance, Spencer is a dork, Stress Baking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23417764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kksunflowerbaby/pseuds/kksunflowerbaby
Summary: "You bake when you’re stressed and sometimes you give me cookies, but recently you’re giving me whole baskets each day, now I’m not complaining but are you okay?” au
Relationships: Spencer Reid/Reader, Spencer Reid/You
Comments: 21
Kudos: 322





	1. I Love Your Baking, But Are You Okay?

Spencer liked his apartment. It was quiet, close to work, and he was rarely disturbed by neighbors or loud noises. He was able to work in peace and get more done at home than most twenty-seven-year-olds could. Overall, he knew he as lucky to have an apartment in the location he did. He refused to take it for granted, after hearing some horror stories from Morgan and Prentiss. They might have been exaggerating, but Spencer wasn’t too sure. 

He made a point to know his neighbors. Maybe it was his paranoid side, or an occupational hazard of needing to know if he was in constant danger, or maybe he was just social. He almost laughed to himself. Everyone knew it wasn’t the last one. 

But, on a fateful Tuesday afternoon when he was coming home from work, he saw something in his apartment building that surprised him. Moving boxes. 

It wasn’t Mrs. Pratt, she refused to leave her husband no matter how annoying he was. And it wasn’t Miss Frids, the sweet librarian who sometimes asked Reid for book recommendations. And there was the empty apartment at the end of the hall—

That was it. 

No one was moving out. Someone was moving in, and Spencer Reid had a new neighbor. He hoped that the new addition to the hall wouldn’t interrupt the balance that he loved. 

Just as he put his key in the door, he heard muffled cursing. It was a feminine voice, ending in a higher pitch and a sharp cry of pain. 

Spencer left the keys in the door and went further down the hall. Whoever it was, he hoped she wasn’t hurt. 

The front door was open and a girl was standing almost in the middle of the living room immediately in front of the front door. She was balancing on one leg and holding her right food in her hands, hopping and making pained noises. 

“Are…are you alright?” Spencer asked tentatively, not wanting to intrude, but also wanting to make sure she was okay. 

She looked up and smiled in surprise. She let her foot go and stood on both legs and stepped forward, extending her right hand. “Hi, I’m (Name). Sorry about the swear words, my couch is apparently made of harder material than I assumed.”

Spencer, who had stubbed his toe many times in his apartment while walking around with his nose in a book, nodded. “I always think the corners jump out at me when I’m not looking.”

(Name) laughed and Spencer grinned at the sound. “I’m Spencer Reid, by the way. I live in 3C.”

“Neighbor! Nice. I was hoping that everyone would be alright around here,” she said. “You’re the first one I’ve met, so it’s starting off good.”

Spencer nodded. “Mrs. Pratt and her husband are in 3A. Miss Frids is in 3D. Both are super nice and they’re quiet. It’s…it’s a really good place to live.”

(Name) grinned and tilted her head to the side. “Lucky me.”

“I’ll let you get back to unpacking,” Spencer said as he took a step backwards, towards his apartment. 

“See you around, Spence.”

Spencer didn’t see (Name) for another week and a half after first meeting her. He flew to New York for a case and then when he came back, he didn’t hear anything from (Name)’s apartment. He didn’t think about her much, but her smile drifted across his mind more than once. 

He had jut gotten home from work and was staring at his measly pantry to decide what to eat for dinner before starting a new book he had found. 

A knock on his door interrupted his train of thought and he went to answer it, checking the peephole first. It was (Name), holding something in her hands. 

He opened the door and immediately smelled warm cookies. Chocolate chip with hints of vanilla. They were probably still warm. His mouth watered. 

“Hi, Spence,” (Name) greeted. Without much preamble, she offered the plate of cookies to him. “I bake when I’m stressed. I hope you like cookies.”

Well, that solved the problem of what he was going to eat for dinner. 

“Thank you, (Name),” he said, taking them gratefully. “Baking while stressed is actually compared to meditating, which lowers blood pressure and is a healthy coping—sorry, I’m rambling.”

“No, actually, that makes sense,” (Name) smiled. “I always feel better after baking, I just thought it was because I was good at it.”

“Smells like you are,” Spencer said without thinking. He blushed.

(Name) chuckled. “Thanks. Good to know that I have someone to dump my baking on in the future.”

Spencer nodded, and watched (Name) go back down the hall to her apartment. 

It continued like that for months. (Name) would bake all sorts of delicacies when she felt pressure or stressed, or anything but jovial. Spencer, although he felt empathy towards her stress, enjoyed the fruits of her labor. She once made a peach cobbler that almost made his knees buckle. 

Sometimes, (Name) would sit with him and enjoy some of her creations with him. Other times, Spencer would open his front door in the morning to a tubberware container with a treat for him. 

As time passed, Spencer realized he was getting more and more treats. Cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, and more than he can name. One day, after getting two cakes in a row, he went down the hall to knock on her door. 

She answered and despite what Spencer thought, not at all stressed. 

“I thought you baked excessive amounts when you’re stressed.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that I refuse to bake unless stressed,” she retorted, putting her hand on her hip. “If you don’t want cakes, I won’t leave them anymore.”

Her expression was becoming more and more cloudy and Spencer realized he might have annoyed her. 

“No, no, I’m not complaining,” he said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “I was just…checking on you. Wanted to make sure you were okay, especially because you were baking so much. But definitely not complaining.”

(Name) tilted her head, considering his words. “It makes me happy to bake for you.”

Spencer is surprised and caught off guard. The honesty was more than he had expected and he wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“I like that you bake for him,” he managed to say. 

(Name) smiled. “I’m working on some cookies for work right now, would you like to help?”

Spencer grinned, and nodded before he entered the apartment. “I’d like that.”


	2. Garcia Is Always Right and Anyone Who Disagrees is Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team makes some deductions, (Name) is introduced, and Prentiss's favorite dessert is monkey bread.

Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, and Hotch had noticed Spencer’s weight gain. It wasn’t a huge amount or anything, but trained professionals like themselves noticed things. And five pounds on his frame stood out more than it would on someone else. 

Morgan thought Spencer had taken up cooking. He tried to talk to him about a recipe he had read about for pasta with pesto and Spencer had shaken his head and said he hadn’t read anything about that.

Prentiss thought it was him eating too much while they were on the private plane. Once, she tried to take away a piece of fruit he had grabbed while they were discussing their current case. Spencer had been surprised and gave her a funny look. 

JJ wasn’t sure why Spencer would suddenly gain five pounds. She knew his habits, from what he liked to eat and how often he would forget to eat. She didn’t want to bother him though, like Prentiss and Morgan had. She kept it to herself, but still wondered why. 

Hotch had an inkling as to what was going on. Haley liked to make food for him. 

It was Garcia who had cracked the case. 

In the middle of the conference room, right after discussing the end of their last case, Garcia had slammed her palms down on the table in her charming and subtle way. 

“Who is she?” She cried, pointing at Spencer dramatically.

Spencer blushed immediately, but tried to hide it. “What-what are you talking about?”

“You’ve gained weight. You smile when you go home. Someone is making food for you, damn it!” Garcia brandished her hands. 

Hotch grinned. 

Morgan blinked, and then said, “Way to go, kid!”

Prentiss and JJ share a look that read _We need to meet her_.

Spencer smiled. “Her name is (Name) and we’ve been seeing each other for about two weeks now.”

And it was true. Ever since (Name) had invited him into her apartment to help with cookies, they had spent more and more time together. Spencer asked her to dinner two weeks ago and she had said yes. 

It was going great, actually.

“I knew it,” Garcia said, smirking proudly. “When are we going to meet her?”

Spencer paled. “Uhm.”

He wanted (Name) to meet everyone, he truly did. But he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or anything other than happy. 

“You’re a part of our family,” Prentiss said, smiling at him. “We want to meet her, but only if you want us to meet her.”

And that’s why he stood outside of her apartment that night, wringing his hands. Deep down, Spencer knew that he would never truly get over the butterflies in his stomach that she caused. But as he was waiting to gather the nerve to ask her to dinner with his team, he wished they would go away for once. 

He knocked, and waited. A moment later, (Name) stuck her head out. Smiling, she had ushered him inside and sat him down at her dinner table while she finished the last touches on the creme brûlée on her stove. 

“I wanted to ask you something,” Spencer said. 

She looked up and smiled. 

“I know it’s soon, but...I want you to meet my team,” Spencer avoided her eyes until he felt her sit down next to him. 

“I agree that it’s soon, but if you want me to meet them, I would love to meet them,” she answered, laying her hand on his shoulder. 

Spencer’s heart swelled. It was even better than what he had hoped she would say. 

A week later, Spencer and (Name) are walking to the restaurant Morgan picked. Somewhat of a neutral territory, he said. No pressure. Spencer was feeling a bit of pressure. 

(Name) stood next to him and took his hand, squeezing it in hers. “Let’s go, I can’t wait to meet your team.”

Spencer smiled and he wondered why he was even nervous in the first place. 

At the table, (Name) sat next to Spencer and Garcia (who had claimed it since she was the one who “cracked the case”). Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss sat across from them with Hotch sitting at the head of the table. 

To Spencer, it felt like his family meeting his girlfriend for the first time. Which, of course, was exactly what it was. 

The team began talking, asking (Name) about herself and her past. She told them of her education and her baking, to which the team replied about that’s how they knew Spencer was seeing someone.

“Five pounds on his frame stands out more than others!” Prentiss joked. 

“You should bring some baked goods into the office,” Morgan suggested. 

(Name) smiled and asked what everyone’s favorite dish was. She made a note and grinned, telling everyone that she would be able to bring in one baked good a week. 

Morgan was gleeful, Garcia said a prayer of thanks that Spencer found a baker, JJ smiled, Prentiss was excited about her monkey bread, and Hotch was elated that Spencer was grinning as much as he was when he looked at (Name). 

This life isn’t easy. It’s hard, especially with loved ones outside of the job. But he had a good feeling about Spencer and (Name).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to continue this work! I had originally written it as a one-shot, but a few comments about the team noticing Spencer gaining a bit of weight gave me a lot of inspiration. I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> A cute little blurb about my fav character. Hope that you enjoy! Leave a comment :)


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